Hello Dear Friends,
the only known to me Holy Roman Empire's wrestling ruleset from the Middle Ages, is pro wrestling at the court of Duke of Burgundy which was known as Bras-le-corps (French) or Lyf Vatten (Dutch). Its from the 'Travels of Rozmital'.
See the rules summary below:
1. wrestlers wear tight-fit underclothes, tunic and hose 2. all actions above the waist only 3. three throws for victory 4. throw=flat horizontal position, whether he is on his back, side, stomach 5. winner retains his feet i.e. is standing, loser is on the ground
Long story short - it is Standing Greco-Roman, yes holds of the body parts only (no clothes holds), and no tripping either, because in Germanic tradition using legs and feet for throwing i.e. hooking and tripping was not considered fair wrestling match technique, though obviously it was widely used in self-defense, which in fact was free-for-all kind of combat. So it appears that official wrestling competition was only with hands, arms and core of the body strengths, i.e. catching advantage holds, lifting, pushing, pulling, swaying and finally throwing.
The original text of “The Travels of Leo of Rozmital, 1465-1467” is in Latin, and could be find in a XV century document first published in Stuttgart in 1844, Latin text Pages 25-26.
It appears that there were 3 kinds of wrestling back then:
1. Self defense wrestling as a street fight protection
2. Pro wrestling to entertain nobility in their castles, actual wrestling
3. Village or country folk style, folklore
Thanks, R
With wrestling one of the few sports mentioned in the Bible along with only walking,running and fishing it was always going to play a prominent part in Medieval Civilizations
Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III and Leo of Rozmital were contemporaries therefore it is not surprising the rules are similar.The second document whilst referring to young members of the nobility as wrestlers also seems to draw a distinction between an exhibition and a real fight.
Some things never change!
Same style at the court of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick.
Jocorum Atque Seriorum Cum Novorum, Tum Selectorum atque memorabilium Libri ...
By Otto Melander
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